Trusts And Trust Administration

Identifying Your Specific Needs and Goals

There are many different types of trusts and, with each type of trust, the provisions may be varied to meet your unique objectives and circumstances.  Some trusts are revocable and some trusts are irrevocable.  With a revocable trust, you maintain control over your assets and you can alter or even revoke your trust.  With an irrevocable trust, you will no longer control your assets, but these assets will gain protection from various claims and creditors.   

Trusts are not one-size-fits-all.  Some reasons for creating a trust include: reducing or eliminating estate and gift taxes, owning property in more than one state, distributing assets without the need for probate, protecting assets from creditors, providing for incapacity, protecting wealth for your beneficiaries, providing for a special needs beneficiary without endangering their government benefits and donating to charitable causes.

I am Elizabeth Estes, an experienced lawyer who tailors estate planning strategies to meet your specific needs. At my Ahwatukee-based law office, I will navigate you through a complex process and prepare the trust or trusts that address your unique goals.

Help Is There When you Need It

While trusts have a number of benefits, trusts still require administration.  Trust administration is a necessary process that occurs after the death of the trustmaker or trustmakers or upon the occurrence of a specific event set forth in the trust. At that time, the successor trustee will begin the trust administration process.  In many cases, trust administration may be easier and require less oversight than probate matters.  However, Arizona successor trustees must pay close attention to detail and fulfill fiduciary duties while administering a trust.

While serving as a trustee carries with it significant responsibilities, if you have been designated as a trustee that means someone close to you respected your judgment and integrity enough to entrust you with this responsibility.  However, you do not have to do it alone.  The trust estate will pay the reasonable fees associated with obtaining legal advice or services to assist you with trust administration.